Optimum
Environments for Optimum Health & Creativity: Designing and
Building a Healthy Home or Office, William J.
Rea, M.D., December 2002. Pictures, building illustrations,
and environmental research data for anyone who wants to design
and build a healthy home, office or creative work space. Contains research data,
medical treatment, and building experience conducted by Dr.
William J. Rea and his patients over the last 30 years at the
medical treatment facility - Environmental Health Center-Dallas,
Texas.
Includes information and building guidance for: identification
of less polluted materials; outdoor air/ location;
foundation and basement; exterior, framing, roofing, insulation
and electrical wiring; garages, outside storage rooms, and
workshops; light and color; thermal comfort; indoor air quality
and air pollution; interior construction; heating, cooling and
ventilation; water; sauna, physical therapy and massage; and a homebuyers/renters
checklist. $39.95www.ehcd.com/books/home_building_designing.html

Real Wood. Least-toxic construction
services, furniture building, and consultation. "I
became chemically sensitive as a result of accumulated
exposure to toxic chemicals in the course of my work and
was thereby made aware of environmental issues. I have
consulted with homeowners on strategizing how to make
their homes safer for them. I have also done finish
woodwork and floor installations in the least toxic way
that I could, to reduce the impact on the health of the
occupants, and also to mediate toxic situations."Owner,
Real LaPalmewww.realwood.net

We have an offer by the Old Concho
Community Assistance Center and the AZ Department of
Housing to purchase and retrofit a large older house
here, outside Snowflake, AZ, to make it useable fas
a permanent residence for 4 lower-income disabled
homeless chemically and/or electrically sensitive people.
The OCCAC Executive Director, Cindy Furrh, asked today
whether there are 30+ people fitting this description who
would identify themselves, and what they need in shared
housing. She needs responses from this many people in
order to justify to funders that the need is enormous,
and that the units will be filled.

2.) Where do you currently live, and can you describe your
living situation? (car camping, stay on friends' or state land,
live in RV, on friends' couch, etc.)

3.) When did you first become aware that you have MCS and/or
electrical sensitivities?

4.) How do you support yourself? (S.S.I., Workers Comp,
retirement benefits?)

5.) Where do you find emotional support? (Friends? Family?
prayer? or don't have support?)

6.) How long have you lived in the White Mountains, or in
Arizona?

7.) To what do you react in a housing situation? short answer
about what you need to avoid like cell phones, perfume, smoke

8.) Do you currently receive medical treatment for MCS and/or
electrical sensitivities?

9.) What is your family size? (currently, not originally or
previously)

10.) What is one thing you feel is most essential in
successfully providing housing for people with MCS / electrical
sensitivities? short answer about what you need like
hotplate, outdoors, clothesline, etc.

Housing Survey. Safe Haven Community,
Environmentally Safer Housing.The
results of the survey will be posted at a later date.
Survey posted on the site. "We
are dedicated to providing a community housing facility
for the chemically sensitive in a clean air
environment."www.geocities.com/safehavencommunity/homepage.htm

I received the
following request for stories about the difficulty of
finding affordable, accessible housing in an effort to
educate policy makers.

Please
review the notice and, if you have such a story or know someone
that does, please e-mail names, addresses (standard and e-mail)
and phone numbers along with a short description of stories to: dfleurant@dlcak.orgby February 7, 2003. I
will forward it along to the folks in DC.

Thanks for
your help.

THE HOUSING
CRISIS FACING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: TELLING THE STORY

Finding
affordable, accessible housing is a significant problem for
people with all types of disabilities across the country. Over
the next few months, the Consortium for Citizens with
Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force will be creating
opportunities to educate government officials, policy makers,
opinion leaders, and the general public about this mounting
national crisis. For example, the next version of the Priced Out
report will be published in March, demonstrating a significant
explosion in housing costs as compared to Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) monthly income.

We need to
"put a face" on this issue by gathering stories of
individuals with all types of disabilities from across the
country who would be willing to talk to a member of the press
(print, broadcast or electronic). We need stories of adults
with disabilities who:

1) Receive
SSI benefits;

2) Have
attempted to find affordable rental housing, and/or affordable
and accessible rental housing, and/or or who simply need
affordable housing (i.e. they are living with aging parents,
paying most of their SSI income for rent, "stuck" in a
group or nursing home where they don't want to be; homeless or
about to be homeless etc.).

If an
individual has sought help from a public housing authority (PHA),
a HUD regional office, or a local affordable housing or
disability organization and has been told he/she must wait years
for housing - such stories are also critical.

Reasons for
inability to secure rental housing could range from:

1) The
individual was told that Section 8 vouchers were not available

2) The
individual was told that all the waiting lists were closed

3) The
individual was told the subsidized property was elderly-only and
they were not eligible to live there; and/or

4) The
property would not accept a Section 8 housing voucher and/or

5) The
property was not accessible

This
issue of Priced Out will be the third. The first was Priced
Out in 1998, the Housing Crisis for People with
Disabilities. The second was Priced Out in 2000, the Crisis
Continues. This third issue will be released sometime
in March 2003 - right in time for the FY 2004 appropriations
process. Priced Out is also an extremely useful tool for
state and local advocates because each issue contains
state-specific and locality-specific data on the housing crisis
faced by people with disabilities.

While
Priced Out focuses specifically on people who receive SSI and the
crisis they face as the poorest of the poor, information about
the problems faced by individuals who receive SSDI or VA benefits
would also be useful.

The Nature of Things -
Up Close and Toxic. Educational television program about
toxins in the home. Download a video clip online and explore the
Toxic House interactive version on the website.http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/toxic.html

5 Safer Housing Help

Consultant to the
Chemically and Electrically Sensitive for Access. Works
with individuals and public entities toward improving
access to housing, medical care, benefits, the workplace,
education and to develop self-defense
strategies for MCS/ES. E-mail Susan Molloy: susanm@cybertrails.com

Understanding and
Accommodating Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in
Independent Living, by Pam Gibson. I have
written a 50 page booklet for the Independent Living
Research. Utilization has gone to all of the independent
living centers and vocational rehab centers as well as to
other disablity organizations. It is available free
on line and may be helpful to people who are having
trouble getting accommodations or getting professionals
to take them seriously. I received helpful input from
both Ann McCampbell and Susan Molloy in the project.www.ilru.org/ilnet/files/bookshelf/mcs/mcsindex.html

CyberCIL of Arizona.
The mission of CyberCil of Arizona is to provide innovative,
meaningful assistance in accordance with the principles and
philosophy of independent living to, and on behalf of, Arizonans
with disabilities so that they may attain or continue an
independent lifestyle.cybercil.com

Safer housing
listed in The Safer Travel Directory.
An exhaustive listing of places to live for the person
with Environmental Illness or Multiple Chemical
Sensitivities.Also, see site for listings or communities all
over the US.mcstravel.resourcez.com

"My wife Pam and I,
executed an eclectic and jagged itinerary which covered a good
deal of the eleven western states and the northern 1000 miles of
western Mexico. We were searching for the EI Shangri La with its
complete year round freedom from the four foul follies of
civilization -- WOOD SMOKE, MOLD, PESTICIDES and URBAN POLLUTION.
We spent 4 years looking for a place which she could tolerate.
The spot that was our final choice was located only 70 miles from
where we started our almost 100,000 mile journey."